Philippines Raises Volcano Alert Level

By Roy RamosZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (AA) - The Philippines has raised the alert level at the volcano in the northern province of Albay after it spewed grayish steam and ash plume three times in less than24 hours.Mayon, one of the most active volcanoes in the country, first spewed ashes, which reached 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) in a phreatic eruption, lasting for almost two hours on Saturday afternoon. It was followed by other phreatic eruptions early morning on Sunday.In a bulletin on early Sunday, the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Philvolcs) raised the alert status of the Mayon volcano one notch to level 2, which means the current activity is "probably of magmatic origin, which could lead to more phreatic eruptions or eventually to hazardous magmatic eruptions". It also noted that a "faint crater glow" was observed on Saturday evening and Mayon has been "slightly swelling" since October and November last year.At least 900 families living around Mayon volcano have been evacuated to centers due to the major threat of eruptions.Residents of the areas are also advised to wear face masks due to ash fall.In a separate incident, six people have been killed in central and southern Philippines due to landslides triggered by heavy rains over the weekend, local officials said.Four people were killed in a wall collapse in the central province of Tacloban, while two senior citizens were buried alive in a landslide in the southern province of Lanao del Sur, the officials were "ed as saying by GMA News.Search-and-rescue operations are ongoing due to the flash floods that hit several areas in the provinces. -